Persona 5 Royal is a turn based JRPG initially released on PS4 in 2019-2020 and soon to be released on all other consoles/Steam October 31st of this year. It was developed and produced by Atlus and falls under their Shin Megami Tensei franchise. Royal is an expanded edition of Persona 5, which released in 2016-2017. It includes a third semester with new characters and a new final boss.
P5R follows the story of the Phantom Thieves, a group who use the Metaverse (not that one) to change the hearts of people. The game opens with the protagonist being put on probation and sent to live with a family friend in Tokyo, after defending someone being assaulted. He transfers to Shujin Academy, begins meeting others with similar power, and they form the Phantom Thieves to challenge corruption in the world.
The gameplay is half exploring dungeons and fighting demons and half social simulator. The dungeons, known as Palaces, are unique to each major villain with guards, puzzles, and items that match their overall aesthetic. The social simulator aspect involves going to school, spending time with people, working part jobs, and going to many unique locations. There's also a side dungeon called Mementos where you can do side quests, which has a more traditional, procedurally generated layout.
The music is more jazz influenced than past Persona games, but still maintains rock, rap, and electronic influences too. Some of the now series-iconic songs have come from this game, Beneath the Mask (rainy day version) being one of my favorites.
What I appreciate the most about this game are the overarching themes that drive the story. The main cast have different traumas in their lives that ultimately brought them together, but one by one they work through that pain. It made me so much more invested seeing characters work through things that many of my friends and I have struggled with too. Watching the cast slowly grow their confidence and look to the future gave me many emotional moments and made this game feel worthy of a mega.
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I loved everything about 5 but my heart belongs to 4 still. I just thrive off those friendly country vibes with a dash of modern pop. And honestly speaking I feel like all the characters (I'm talking everyone here, side characters, villains, even that one granny one of the scenes telling a certain someone she mistakes as her grandson if he wants some fresh nimono for dinner) you meet in there - outside of the cringe tropes the Japanese just gotta put in to make it a successful product - feel more alive with their mundane yet human issues. Shit like watching Kanji working through his own toxic masculinity of his youth due his father dying young, watching his mother struggle to keep a roof over their heads and being judged by society for his passion for his family business of textiles'n'knitting'n'shit as he grows to accept both himself and the world he lives in and striving to mature as a man of kindness and patience. I guess I just vibed with the overall message of P4 over P3 and P5. Fuckin' love them all though.